Justin Cox
Meet Our 3 New Board Members: Scott White, Barb ...

The SeaDoc Board is instrumental to our mission here in the Salish Sea. Scott, Barb, and Jeff bring unique expertise, passion, and dedication to our team and we’re so excited to have them! View the whole board here and learn more about Scott, Barb and Jeff below.

Justin Cox
A Non-Invasive Tool For Collecting Killer Whale ...

Drones can be powerful tools in gathering important health data about wildlife, including marine species like the Salish Sea’s endangered killer whales. Scientists have already established the benefits of collecting breath samples to monitor orca health, but we wanted to scientifically understand if it is less invasive than previous sampling methods–namely the use of a long pole with a petri dish extended from a nearby boat toward the whale’s blowhole.

A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Marine Mammal Science, led by SeaDoc Society Research Assistant Catherine Lo, answered that question by analyzing more than 1,000 drone-collected killer whale breath samples. 

A Non-Invasive Tool For Collecting Killer Whale Breath Samples
Justin Cox
Meet SeaDoc's Newest Science Advisors, Caitlin ...

This summer, our brilliant Scientific Advisory Committee gathered in Seattle to assess and ultimately determine funding for five new critical research projects here in the Salish Sea. You can read about those here.

Our Science Advisors are a vital part of our mission, and we’re excited to introduce two exciting new additions. They are Caitlin Magel of Puget Sound Institute and Phil Bloch of Confluence Environmental Company. We asked them a few questions so you can get to know them a bit better. 

Welcome Caitlin and Phil! 

Justin Cox
SeaDoc Announces More than $200,000 in New ...

We're excited to announce that SeaDoc Society will fund five new scientific research projects aimed at improving the longterm health of the Salish Sea. Each project was carefully reviewed and selected by our Scientific Advisory Committee and funded through your donations from people like you.

We look forward to sharing more about each of these as fieldwork ramps up, but here is a brief look at the newly funded projects:

SeaDoc Announces More than $200,000 in New Funded Research
Justin Cox
Joe Gaydos Elected to Washington State Academy ...

The Washington State Academy of Sciences has elected 36 new members in recognition of their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement. Among the select group in this year’s slate is SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos!

Joe Gaydos Elected to Washington State Academy of Sciences

sarah teman

Meet Our New Research Assistant, Catherine Lo!

Meet Our New Research Assistant, Catherine Lo!

We’re so excited to introduce our newest Research Assistant, Catherine Lo!

Cat’s predecessor, Sarah Teman, started her PhD program at the University of Washington this fall and we can’t wait to watch her bright future unfold! Like Sarah, Cat will work alongside Joe Gaydos on all things science and research here at SeaDoc Society. She joins us on Orcas Island this fall and has hit the ground running!

“Cat comes to SeaDoc with strong research skills and experience in data collection, data analysis, project management, scientific writing, and field work,” said SeaDoc Science Director Joe Gaydos. “Plus she loves the ocean and is a delightful person to work with. What’s not to like about that?”

Studying Seal Sizes to Benefit Their Survival

Studying Seal Sizes to Benefit Their Survival

Science helps us adapt and improve. For decades, marine mammal stranding response and rehabilitation organizations in the United States have been treating and rehabilitating harbor seal pups, and releasing them back into the wild. It’s critical that during rehabilitation seals gain sufficient blubber and mass so their fat reserves can enable them to survive after they are released. Prior studies have suggested that seals with greater body mass have better odds of survival. Unfortunately, until now, there has been no nationwide assessment of the sizes at which seals are released.

Into the Sandy Sea Floor with a Vital Forage Fish

Into the Sandy Sea Floor with a Vital Forage Fish

“Well-aerated, well-sorted, medium-to coarse-grain...” might sound like a wine flavor profile, but it actually describes the type of sandy, sea floor habitat preferred by Pacific sand lance. Sand lance play a crucial role in the Salish Sea’s food web, providing nutrition for everything from seabirds to whales, salmon, and lingcod. It’s thought that one sand wave field in the San Juan Archipelago alone could be home to over 12 million sand lance, but we’re only beginning to learn about their habitat.

The Silent Stressors that are Harming Scoters

The Silent Stressors that are Harming Scoters

Take a moment to think about a black-and-white animal that lives in the Salish Sea, depends on fish, and is threatened by human activities. Did you think orca, or did a certain marine bird come to mind? For Dr. Eric Anderson, he had birds on the brain.

Anderson, Program Head of the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Ecological Restoration Program and researcher at Friday Harbor Laboratories, studies animals that are much smaller than the giant, charismatic toothed whales that traverse our inland waters. He studies scoters–specifically, white-winged scoters and surf scoters. Easily mistaken for a puffin, scoters are stocky sea ducks that spend winter and spring in the Salish Sea before migrating north to Canada and Alaska to lay their eggs and raise young. Once a common sight in this region, scoter populations have declined by over 60% in the past 50 years. And just like endangered Southern Resident killer whales, which suffer from three main threats, the decline of scoters can be linked to not one, but multiple human-caused issues.